The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to streamline the acquisition of tenurial instruments for critical onshore infrastructure supporting offshore wind projects (OSW).
The MOA, signed by DOE secretary Sharon S. Garin and PNOC President Franz Josef George E. Alvarez, establishes a coordinated framework for developers to secure essential land access for cable landing points, substations, and grid interconnection facilities.
‘This agreement gives offshore wind developers a clearer and more coordinated pathway for securing the onshore areas needed to support their projects,’ Garin said. ‘By defining institutional roles and procedures, we are reducing uncertainty and helping address an important requirement in moving viable offshore wind projects toward construction and eventual operation.’
The MOA outlines a structured, time-bound process for OSW developers to secure land or water area access.
OSW developers will identify sites and submit technical, legal, environmental, and geospatial documents. The DOE then validates and endorses qualified site proposals to the PNOC which, in turn, evaluates the proposals and helps secure tenurial instruments from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Tenurial instruments issued by the government allow individuals, communities, and the private sector to control and use forestlands and their resources.
PNOC must then complete its evaluation of DOE-endorsed proposals in 30 days. Thereafter, PNOC should notify the developer once the DENR issues the tenurial instrument.
After which, PNOC and the OSW developer must finalize in 15 days a project-specific use agreement after notification.
The initiative is particularly timely as the DOE advances the Fifth Green Energy Auction (GEA-5), the country’s first Green Energy Auction round dedicated to OSW, with a capacity offering of 3.3 gigawatts (GW) of fixed-bottom offshore wind for delivery between 2028 and 2030.
Beyond GEA-5, offshore wind will play an important role in the country’s long-term energy transition. The Philippine Energy Plan 2023-2050 sets a target of 19 GW of offshore wind capacity under Clean Energy Scenario 1 by 2050, while the country’s estimated 178 GW of technical offshore wind potential underscores the scale of the resource available for future development.
The DOE and PNOC will continue to coordinate with DENR and other concerned agencies to ensure that the framework is implemented transparently, consistently, and in accordance with law.
The partnership supports the national goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in the power generation mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.